Left ventricular assist device implantation after plasma exchange for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

Treating a patient with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia can be challenging particularly when the patient requires urgent cardiac surgery that uses heparin for anticoagulation. We herein report a case of a 61-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy associated with heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and who underwent plasma exchange to remove heparin-induced thrombocytopenia antibodies before undergoing left ventricular assist device implantation. The surgery was performed using cardiopulmonary bypass and unfractionated heparin.